Crawling In My Skin
by 8BonnieBlue8
Summary: What would have happened if Kenzi had broken a different bottle that day at the Norn's, one containing something much worse? The story picks off after S2 and will be AU from then on, though will still follow the basic plot set down by S3 & 4. A Kenzi centric fic with Kenzi/Dyson
1. Chapter 1

_Pairings: Kenzi/Dyson (eventually), hints of Doccubus and Kenzi/Hale, eventual Valkubus (because I ship them too hard not to put them in)_

_A/N: OK, so I want to forewarn you all that I haven't exactly been reliable in the past with updating and finishing stories – so don't expect too much from this one. That said I have great (hopefully) plans for this one and fingers crossed that I do finish it. I wasn't going to post it since I hadn't completed it but I decided to just bite the bullet and do it. I hope you like it _

_Oh, and the title is taken from the song Crawling by Linkin Park and the rating may change later on. _

…

"Ow!" Kenzi groaned, cupping her head in an attempt to shield it from the pain. A futile pursuit considering the pain was coming from inside it. She had a momentary image of pushing her fingers through her skull and cupping her brain to protect it from inside harm – _gross_. She'd so been around the Fae too much if this was what she thought of in response to a hangover. "I hate you," she mumbled, not sure if she was talking to the hangover; the empty bottles of tequila nearby; herself for giving into their sweet, sweet temptation; or the man across from her, who seemed to be tolerating his own alcohol intake infuriatingly well. _Stupid Fae_.

He smirked at her, unmoved by her distress. Oh, it was most certainly _him_ who she hated. "Are you always this pleasant in the morning?" he asked.

There was a moan to Kenzi's left and the surface she'd been sleeping on suddenly shifted. She glanced down in vague bewilderment that her bed of convenience was not so much a piece of furniture but a piece of human – Bo's stomach to be exact. The two were sprawled across the couch in their loft where they must have passed out at some point in the night – or early morning, as would probably be more accurate. She blinked and noticed a trail of saliva on her best friend's midriff – left there in the night by someone whose name most certainly didn't rhyme with frenzy– and wiped at it guiltily. Another moan.

"Quiet you," the moaner, who also happened to be Bo, mumbled in Dyson's general direction.

He only smiled and sipped at his coffee, annoyingly chipper – well, by his standards anyway. Apparently, not only was he not suffering from the devil of all hangovers, but he'd also had time to get up and fetch himself a coffee, and some breakfast if the dirtied plate on the coffee table was anything to go by. Her stomach roiled just looking at it, the thought of food bringing up the image of a yucky toilet bowl that, if she wasn't lucky, she'd be spending the rest of her morning bent over in pure misery. Hangovers sucked.

"I hate you. You, I hate," she grumbled, scowling at him.

"Quiet." Bo repeated with the air of one who expected their will to be obeyed without question.

Kenzi resisted the urge to poke out her tongue at her, mostly because the talking was hurting her head too. Where was Hale when you needed him? Oh, right, shacking up with some magic booby (literally) bimbos from the Dal. Why would he do such a thing? They were way more fun than sex! More specifically, _she_ was way more fun than sex. Of course, her judgement might be a bit skewered considering the last time she had gotten a little action with anyone other than herself was – actually, best not to even go there; one of the drawbacks of living with a succubus. Around Bo, she was like a feather toy begging a cat to chase it when there was a perfectly good mouse right in front of said cat.

She loved her but she was a total killer for her sex life.

She shut her eyes and groaned when her head reminded her, a little too insistently, that there was a hammer tap-dancing inside it, alongside a nail playing pogo stick.

"You," she clicked her fingers in the vague direction of Dyson. "Painkillers. Now."

There was a murmur of assent from the Succubus's corner. Kenzi supposed she should probably get up and move before she added to her already hefty pile of slobber but she was so achy and Bo was so comfy. Ah, screw it. Nothing short of a tornado could get her to move right now.

There was the sound of movement: Dyson obeying. "It's your own fault, you know. It was you who insisted on this get together, and that we drink several bars worth of alcohol."

Kenzi pouted. "It was a celebration party. You know, in celebration of the fact that oh-yay-the-world-didn't-end-we're-all-still-kickin'-and-bo-didn't-go-all-crazy-ax-murderer-on-our-asses."

"Thanks for that Kenzi," Bo muttered.

"A party which you've had every night for a week straight. Hale finally cottoned onto the fact that you were only using him for his siren cure for hangovers and bailed." Dyson confided, the amusement clear in his voice. He wouldn't be so happy if he was the one with the massive headache and the siren with his miracle powers was nowhere to be found.

Kenzi pouted. "_Lame_."

There was movement and she breathed relief when a hot cup of coffee and some painkillers were placed in her hands; ok, so maybe Dyson wasn't _so_ bad. "Maybe you should cut back on the partying. A week is stretching things, even for you." Scratch that, he was a dick and she wanted nothing more to do with them.

She popped the painkillers into her mouth, swallowed and glared at him. "Shut it, Kujo."

"And hand me the painkillers already," Bo exclaimed and breathed a sigh of relief when she, too, was given her precious bounty. "And Dyson's right. No more partying. I don't think my head can take it."

"Lame," Kenzi muttered for the second time, scowling into her coffee. So maybe she had been over doing it with the drinking and the partying but what was so wrong with being glad you were alive? They'd faced a Fae war and they were all still kicking with tongues attached able to tell the tale! That was worth celebrating.

It was also a nice distraction from the still healing wound in her side and the reminder of how close she had come to not being among those survivors. It wasn't as though she hadn't nearly died before – there weren't enough fingers on her hands to count the number of times that had happened – but if Hale hadn't been there . . .

There was a lot of blood.

And with what had happened with Nate. . .

Then of course there was this freakin' itch on her arm that refused to go away. Although she had a feeling she knew where it had come from, there was no way she was going to ask her friends for help and thus admit that, yes, _again_, the human had gotten herself into trouble. Plus, that Norn was batshit crazy and she didn't want to think about the many number of things that could have been in the bottle that she broke. For all she knew, she was going to grow a tale.

_Oh, god_. She would never be able to pull that off in her favourite pants.

The Fae could really suck ass sometimes.

Nonetheless, she sighed in relent and nodded her consent to the no-more-partying decree. She could always escape to the Dal and drink Trick out of his alcohol. The two could bond over their near death experiences together.

She shuddered at the reminder of something else she didn't want to think about. Dying scared her, but losing one of her friends, _her family,_ was something she wasn't prepared to contemplate. Not when she'd found some that actually loved her for the first time. No, there was no way she was getting through the next couple of weeks without some serious booze.

….

"How much did you drink last night?" Dyson asked, watching Bo curiously as she went about cleaning up the remnants of their night of partying – or rather Kenzi's night of partying and their night of playing hostages. For someone who had been unable to face the light of day only minutes ago, she now had a conspicuously hangover-less bounce to her step.

The retching from the bathroom was a clear sign that her speedy recovery had not in fact extended to her roommate. Fae metabolism, you got to love it.

Bo smiled at him wryly in the midst of chucking out some empty wine bottles. "Don't worry, only a few glasses. I was just putting on the act for Kenz in the hopes that it may further convince her that our partying has run its course." She cringed a moment later after lifting up a couch pillow to find it had, at some point in the night, made love to a pizza slice. The result of their union was less than appetizing. "Gross." She spared him a glance, noticing his confused look. "I wasn't kidding about my head not being able to take much more, or my stomach. Fae I may be but even my super metabolism finds Kenzi's brand of having a good time challenging. What about you?"

She was gazing so morosely at the mess on the couch cushion that Dyson took pity on her and snagged a few tissues from the tissue box on the coffee table. He went about doing his best to clean off the pizza, a near impossible task that nonetheless improved with his valiant efforts. "I'm just here to make sure neither of you get into too much trouble, like invoking Baba Yaga for instance." He wasn't the type to be petty, well, not since getting his love back at any rate but the number of slaps he'd gotten during that mishap still stung . . . and he feared his nether region would never be the same from the onslaught _it_ had received.

Bo looked mildly offended with a side of guilt. "That was one time." She held up a finger to accentuate before pouting somewhat childishly. "And it wasn't even me. I'm blameless."

Dyson smirked. "Well, Kenzi did do it for you."

If anything, Bo's pout and childishness only increased. "I know." She paused in collecting the empty pizza boxes, face growing contemplative. "Honestly, I think she did it a little for herself as well."

He gazed at her confused. Unless he'd grown himself a serious case of amnesia, he was fairly certain he hadn't carried out an affair with Kenzi only to dump her after sacrificing his love for her. If that was the case, Bo would have already killed him by now. "What do you mean?"

She smiled somewhat sadly at him. "We're her family, Dyson, _you're_ her family and for Kenzi that's huge. For both of us it is, actually." She sighed and shook her head, continuing with the clean-up. "When you were being a great big douche to us, I think you really hurt her. _I_ understood why you were acting that way even if it did hurt . . . but I think for Kenzi . . . I think she couldn't understand why, if you'd lost your love for me, why you still couldn't love her." She shrugged her shoulders with feigned carelessness, avoiding his gaze. "In a way, I guess you broke her heart too."

Dyson felt something heavy settle in his chest. He didn't like to think back on those times or how he had behaved towards the people he loved. He knew that Kenzi had been pissed at him and that he hadn't exactly been kind towards her but he hadn't considered that Bo hadn't been the only one he'd really hurt. With his love safely back where it ought to be, courtesy of none other than the girl herself, the guilt was near crippling. The idea of anyone hurting Kenzi made his inner wolf snarl, the fact that it had been him left him at a loss. There was no-one to attack but himself.

He sighed. "I'm sorry. It was never about hurting you _or_ Kenzi, Bo."

She laid a comforting hand on his arm, smile small but forgiving. It wasn't _her_ forgiveness he was after at the moment, though. "I know, believe me, I do. And she knows it to. You've lost something so … huge, and that can make the best of us act like royal douchebags." She shrugged and Dyson felt another pang of guilt at the fact that he hadn't told her yet of what he'd gained back from the Norn, through Kenzi. He didn't feel like he should tell her, though. She was finally finding some semblance of happiness with Lauren and discovering that his love had returned would only shake that. There was also the fact that, even with his love back, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about Bo, or anything at the moment. He'd been without the ability to feel deep love, for anyone, for so long that to have those emotions back all of a sudden left him dazed. His feelings were a mess inside of him and until he sorted them out, he wasn't telling Bo anything. "And I'm sorry too. I'm sorry you had to sacrifice that for me. I really am."

The guilt deepened but he ignored it. Eyes solemn, he placed his own hand over the one she had settled on his arm. "Don't be. I'd do it again." He meant it. No matter how confused his feelings, Bo would always be something precious to him.

She smiled, somewhat wonderingly. "There's something different about you."

He turned away, her hand slipping from his arm. "I'm just glad we beat the Garuda."

"Bo, the tiles are staring at me funny!" came a whine from inside what passed for their bathroom. "I think they're plotting against me! And my throat hurts. And my head. _Ow_."

"Though not glad enough to do this again," he amended quickly, exchanging a look with Bo.


	2. Beneath the Surface

_A/N: So here it is, the next chapter! And look, it's even longer than the last one. I just want to say thankyou so much for all the reviews, your thoughts and views have really been a powerful motivator and I appreciate you taking the time to leave them. I hope I live up to your expectations _

_I've also got to apologise for the fact that there's no Dyson in this chapter (sorry!) though I did put in Vex as a consolation prize because he's so awesome. Don't worry, though, Dyson will definitely be in the next chapter. Also got to make it clear that whilst this is a Denzi fic it is gonna be very slow burn, mostly because I want to do it right. Hope you enjoy _

_Disclaimer: Some of the conversation is taken from the Lost Girl episodes 2x22 and 3x03. _

…_._

The overwhelming relief that washed over Kenzi at the sight of Trick returning to the land of the living was short lived. No sooner had he uttered his desperate question about the Garuda did everything begin to fall apart again. First it was just a slight sway in Bo's form, not so concerning – after all, she'd just fought an epic battle with the Big Bad of all Bads and _won_, she was entitled to feeling a little lightheaded. Then her eyes flashed blue – never a good sign – and Trick's alarmed voice pulled Kenzi to full alert.

"What have you done?"

"I couldn't lose you," Bo explained, shaking her head tearfully, as Kenzi gripped her arm and eyed her with concern. Her eyes were brown again. That was good right? Just a little momentary slippage, not so bad. Everything was going to be OK.

"But you could lose _yourself_!" Trick protested, rising up slightly in a panic. "Unbind her quickly!"

Kenzi didn't need to be told twice. "Got it." Jumping to her feet and ignoring the way her vision dappled slightly from the blood loss and sudden movement she rushed to Hale. "Siren, hand!" She didn't wait for him to comply, forcefully grabbing his appendage and pulling out a pocketed knife. Hastily, she cut the skin of Hale's palm and pressed her own on top of it. There was no need to carve up her own flesh – she had enough of her blood outside her body already to break several binding spells.

Bo was on her feet now, too, in full blue mode and looking unsettlingly pekish. "My strength is unmatched. I will reign as queen and you shall all tremble before my power." There was no need to wait for such an outcome, Kenzi was already shaking at the sight of her best friend so . . . _gone._ That was the only word she could think of to describe it. Bo was just gone. There was no sign of her in the glowing cobalt eyes, the powerful pose or the ravenous expression.

"Quickly before the darkness overwhelms her completely!" Trick interrupted, bringing her back to the present.

Kenzi inwardly cursed herself for having hesitated. "With harm to none, thy will be done, thou cannot harm them, Bo," she gasped. Eyes wide she watched, waited for the blue to disappear and for Bo to return to them, to _her_.

She waited.

_Come on, Bo. Please. _

The knife which she'd returned to her pocket dug into the skin of her thigh, unbearably _there_. She hadn't just packed it for the unbinding spell. It had another, darker purpose, one that she'd done her best not to contemplate when she'd shoved it into her pocket earlier that day. If she had, even for a second, she would have torn it from its place and thrown it out a window in a heartbeat. If she thought about what Bo had asked her to do, had her_ promise_ to do, she would never be able to go through with it.

Only, now she _had_ to think about it. Bo's eyes weren't changing, the blue wasn't going and Kenzi could hear the timer in the background, racing down.

A second's pause.

_Please, Bo._

The succubus snapped around to glare at her, the warmth she usually held for her best friend now an ice that pierced Kenzi's heart. "You dare try to stop me, mortal? I, the all-powerful, the future queen? You will pay for your foolish mistake. I will rip the life from your body until there is nothing left and then return it to you before taking it once more! I will bring you back again and again, kill you over and over, so that you may know the agony of death a thousand times over! You will never know peace!"

Kenzi shook. Not because of the words, of the terrible fate being spelled out for her in horrific detail, but because it was Bo saying it to her – _Bo_: her best friend, her _sister_.

"We're too late," Trick sighed, voice falling with dismay and realised despair.

She shook her head. No. _No._

In that instant, Bo attacked.

There was a flurry of movement as the succubus came at her and she could only blink, stunned, as the man beside her flung himself in the way. If Bo was disappointed at her change of prey, though, she didn't show it. Instead, her arm shot out and she gripped the siren around the throat, eyes glowing ever brighter as she opened her mouth.

Kenzi had seen Bo feed before and there was usually a certain length of time you could rely upon from first taste to death, time in which to intervene. That didn't exist now, though. Hale's chi, light and beautiful, flew through the air into her open mouth, hovering between the two of them for only a second before disappearing into her completely.

He dropped to the ground, lifeless.

A cry of dismay sounded. It took Kenzi a moment to realize it was her own.

And then everything was chaos.

Dyson, angered by the loss of his friend, moved to attack – to _subdue_, Kenzi internally corrected herself, for even now she knew the wolf would never be able to bring himself to kill the succubus – and Bo swung around, seemingly delighted at the prospect of a new opponent. She didn't even need to touch her victim this time to do damage, getting close to them no longer seemed a requirement. Her mouth, still open and hungry, breathed in and Dyson's own mouth was yanked open as he stopped in his tracks. The chi flew out of him.

Kenzi tried to move, to act, but her limbs stayed frozen and immobile. She had to do something, to stop this. Dyson's life was bleeding out of him and Hale was-

She had to do something.

The knife burned unnaturally hot in her back pocket.

No, not that. Never that.

Dyson collapsed to the floor. He didn't move.

Vex took that as his cue to leave and hastily raced to the exit. Bo wouldn't let him go, though. Her hunger, far from being satisfied by her recent snacks, was now only whetted and she thirsted for more. The Mesmer was only to reach the door before he too was stopped in his tracks by the succubus's powers.

He fell faster than Dyson.

The knife-

_No_.

Trick was on his feet now, hands up, trying to calm his granddaughter, to reason with her. It was no use. Kenzi closed her eyes, unable to watch as he too met his fate. It was so unforgivably weak of her but she couldn't open her eyes. She couldn't act. She couldn't do anything.

She had promised Bo and she couldn't.

Lauren was next and the doctor, a mere human like Kenzi, died even quicker than the rest.

Then there was only her. The weak spot, the liability . . . the one with the means to stop this but who had failed.

'_You are the only one I can trust with this.'_

She deserved what came next, she even wanted it.

'_You are my best friend.'_

But she couldn't accept it.

'_Promise me.'_

Just as Bo was almost on her, Kenzi withdrew the knife from her pocket and pounced. Breath hard, side aching and still slightly delirious from blood loss, she tackled the taller woman to the ground. There was a gasp beneath her and Kenzi's hands trembled around the hilt of the knife where it had penetrated her best friend's heart.

It wasn't that easy, though.

The succubus struggled beneath her, writhing and Kenzi knew she had to act quickly because her weight wouldn't be enough to hold her down for long. On the streets, she'd been witness to the fact that a stab wound to the heart was usually always fatal but not always instantaneous. Depending on where it went in and what was damaged a person could stick around for quite a while.

With Bo, that wasn't an option. She would use that time to feed off Kenzi, to heal.

There would be no one left to stop her then.

To keep the promise.

Quickly, Kenzi tore the knife out of Bo's heart and flung it as far away from the two of them as she could – far enough that it wouldn't be a possible weapon for Bo's reaching arms. The action caused further damage and Bo screamed, eliciting a wince from the human. She couldn't hesitate, though. Not again.

Using one hand to wrap around the succubus' weakening but still flailing ones and hold them down against her chest, she slammed the other over her mouth. Staring into blue eyes, she struggled to hold the other woman down, making sure that her mouth didn't slip away for even a second and open. That would be the end of her. One second was all it would take to suck her chi, for this to all be over.

Kenzi nearly gave in at the thought.

'_Promise me!'_

Shaking her head, she kept her grip firm.

Hot blood, thick and sticky, swamped the hand she was using to restrain the other woman's arms over her chest. It slithered between her fingers, making Bo's skin slippery beneath her own and nearly giving her the chance to break free a couple of times. Biting her lip, she held firm, trying to ignore the blood.

Ever so slowly, the struggle lessened as the woman beneath her weakened. Kenzi stared into Bo's face as it grew ever paler, her features slackening slightly with every passing second. Eventually, even the blue began to fade until there was nothing but brown in those familiar depths again.

'_I promise.'_

It was in that instant that Kenzi saw it: recognition. For a second, the monster was gone and it was just Bo, her Bo, staring up at in her in shock and pain and _love_.

"Bo?" her voice cracked.

Any and all movement beneath her suddenly ceased. The blood stopped pulsing, the chest stopped shuttering with desperate breaths, and Bo's eyes became still, the blue gone, the light gone, everything gone.

"Bo!" she cried, tearing her hands away and cupping the woman's face, branding crimson to her cheeks. "Bo, please! I'm sorry, Bo, please! Please come back! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, please, I'm…." The pleas faded away into incoherent sobs as she gripped her friends face, shaking her, begging her.

It was useless and the realization was shattering.

Letting out a wail, she bowed her head to Bo's chest, burying it in the heat of skin and blood. Closing her eyes, she prayed for her to come back, for them _all_ to come back.

_Please. Please. Please. _

Tears melding with blood, she waited, alone.

A gasp tore itself from Kenzi's lips as her eyes snapped open. For a moment, she couldn't place the darkness of the room around her, the lack of wet warmth from the blood, the lack of Bo. Tearing into a sitting position, she looked around, searching, trying to make sense. "Bo?" she croaked, dry eyes beginning to water.

Then, slowly, the darkness became more recognisable to her gaze, shadows shifting and forming into familiar objects: a dresser, a closet, her teddy bear, Ziggy, in the corner . . . a bed, which she was sitting on, tangled in blankets.

It was her room. She was in her room.

She'd been asleep.

She hadn't been back in the former mental asylum where they'd fought the Garuda – that was all far away. She hadn't just watched all her friends die, powerless to do anything. She hadn't just killed Bo.

It was only a dream – a _nightmare_.

She could still feel Bo's body beneath her own, though, dead. She could still hear her screams, feel her blood.

She still felt like she'd failed.

Crawling out of bed, heart beating frantically in her chest even though she'd only just awoken from sleep, she raced down the stairs from her room. Bo's was on the level below and Kenzi nearly tripped down the last few steps in her blind haste. Breath coming in short gasps, she sprinted to Bo's room.

She needed to check, to see. She needed to make sure that the blood on her hands wasn't real.

She halted at the double glass doors to Bo's room, left closed as they had been ever since Vex moved in – neither woman trusted the former Mesmer not do terrible things to them in their sleep, like draw dicks all over their faces. The succubus was sleeping soundly in her bed, snoring loudly with the blankets flung half off her.

She was alive. She was safe.

She wasn't gone.

The relief was so strong, Kenzi nearly collapsed to the ground under the weight of it. As it was, she allowed herself to slide slowly to the floor and lean back up against the wall. Closing her eyes, she worked to steady her breathing.

The nightmares were getting worse. Every night for weeks, they'd been plaguing her, each one harder to brush off than the last. This wasn't the first she'd had about their final showdown with the Garuda but it was certainly the most horrific. In the past, the nightmares had always been shorter. She'd only lose one friend or maybe two to the darkness inside Bo. Each time, she'd wake with a horrible feeling in her chest, mourning losses that hadn't really happened.

The first time Hale had died, she'd done her best to track him down the next day, to schedule away some quality Sidekick Pals for Life time but he'd been too busy with Ash duties. She'd gotten a glimpse of him, a brief fist bump and then he was off. She'd been left behind, a sick feeling in her stomach.

When Dyson had died, she'd made her way to the police station first thing the following morning – bright and early, which had drawn raised eyebrows from Bo. She'd spent the day practically stalking him, something that had probably been irritating to the detective, though he never gave any indication of the fact. She'd needed to reassure herself that she hadn't lost him.

She'd never had to kill Bo before, though. She'd always woken before that point.

Until tonight.

Letting out a shaky breath, she continued to try to calm herself and stay quiet. Vex was in the room, sleeping in a heap on the couch with his eye-mask on. She couldn't afford to wake him, to risk his questions or the chance that he might tell Bo.

She didn't want her best friend to know about this.

It was so stupid.

They risked their lives daily and yet she couldn't even handle a few bad dreams in the night? She was made of tougher shit than that.

Yet every night since the nightmares had started, she'd woken abruptly, shaking, too scared to go back to sleep and risk falling into another dream. They weren't all about the Garuda, some of them didn't even have anything to do with Bo and her friends, but there were none of them that she could stand the thought of revisiting.

She hated it but even more so she was _tired_ of it. She was so tired. She didn't know how many more nights of half-sleep she could take before she collapsed. She was a girl used to sleeping her day away, after all, and therefore getting plenty of zzzs. There was only so much coffee one could consume, as well. Already she was starting to get the shakes from caffeine overdose during the day.

Maybe she should just sleep.

The nightmares were horrible but she could tolerate them. She_ should_ tolerate them. What if she was on a case with Bo and they got into trouble and Kenzi was too weak to help? What if she got Bo hurt?

She had to sleep.

Closing her eyes, Kenzi breathed out deeply through her nose, trying to relax.

An image flashed in her mind of Bo's pale, lifeless face, staring emptily into her eyes.

Kenzi kept her eyes open after that.

The skin beneath her left sleeve itched and burned. It was a constant but welcome ache to keep her from falling into the trap of sleep through the rest of the night.

…

Kenzi tried not to question things too much when Bo jumped from searching for her AWOL phone, to her and Vex being cute little make-up buddies (which was so true), to bemoaning the fact that she was make-up buddy-less herself, to pouting about Tamsin being too Mean Girl to be her friend, to wanting to have a 'private' talk with Dyson (which, Kenzi had a feeling that, while private parts would certainly be involved there wasn't likely to be much talking going on). When you were BFFs with Bo, you just sort of had to take these things in stride. Maybe she was just scatterbrained today, maybe she'd OD'd with her succu-loving and was now on an energy high or something, or maybe she was just possessed. Really, it was all part in parcel. Just go with the flow was what Kenzi'd learnt, just go with the flow.

Watching her bestie walk out of the shack with a bouncy yet purposeful stride, Kenzi thought over her parting words. So, she was going to go talk to Dyson. About what, she couldn't be exactly sure, but she had her suspicions. Their on-again, off-again sexy-times were bound to come up. Maybe Bo had finally come to her senses and realised that, whilst the doc was OK and all, it was the wolf that truly deserved her. The guy had sacrificed his freakin' love for her, after all!

Kenzi trusted Dyson with Bo, she knew that he would do anything for her and that he certainly wasn't going to screw her just because the Ash told him to – which, really? Talk about an employer over stepping. That was just icky.

He was a _good _guy. He would be good to Bo.

And he deserved to be happy. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted Bo to be happy. If that meant the two of them being together then she'd sooner push the two's naughty bits together (_ew_, OK, gross visual) than march in the Lauren pride parade.

Nodding to herself, Kenzi returned her attention to Vex, trying to ignore the sickening feeling in her stomach. It was the same one that always writhed within her when she thought of Bo and Dyson together. It was one she'd grown used to, though. She'd had to.

She'd _made_ herself.

"Private," she mused, allowing a smirk. "Lauren's pelt is going to be steamed!" she sang, complete with an operatic gesture of the arms. Petty or not, a small part of her delighted in such a fate for the doc – the woman so needed to get knocked off her pedestal a bit.

Vex didn't look nearly as gleeful. "What's it with you and the doc? I mean, besides the terrible bedside manner and the fact that she's a damn sight cleverer than you?" _Ouch_. Kenzi tried not to let that last part sting.

So the doc was better schooled than she was. Kenzi had had other things to occupy her time other than getting a fancy medical degree – like just staying alive, for instance. Finding food, shelter and money had been her priorities and she'd been pretty damn good at it, too. Just because she wasn't book smart didn't mean she wasn't clever. She'd like to see the doctor work her way out of handcuffs in less than five minutes.

"Not to mention sneaky," Kenzi added pointedly. "She spy-banged Bo." Something that it seemed only _she _could remember. Bo might have forgiven her for that but it had shown Kenzi a side of Lauren that she wouldn't soon forget. She'd been willing to lie and betray Bo to serve her own ends and that wasn't just a momentary slip of the conscience, stuff like that never was. It was an indicator of a kind of moral compass that would always make you untrustworthy to a degree. She'd met people like that and more than a few had screwed her over.

No matter how far Lauren Lewis had come, in Kenzi's mind that made her a danger to Bo.

Vex, however, remained unconvinced. Not to be unexpected from someone that deceit and betrayal probably came as natural as breathing. "Dyson's drop-kicked Bo's heart ten times over and you still _howl _when he comes round."

Kenzi's mouth dropped open, affronted. "I . . . No!" That wasn't it at all.

Flustered, she swept to her feet, turned away, paced.

It wasn't true. She supported Dyson because he was good, good for Bo. Sure he had hurt her but . . .

Well, she knew _why _he had hurt her. She understood.

Lauren she didn't know at all, didn't understand.

Dyson, as much as he may have hurt Bo, she knew would never actually be a _threat_ to Bo. Lauren on the other hand . . . well, what did they really know about Lauren?

That sick feeling in her stomach nibbled at her defences, though, hinting at something more. It said that maybe the reason she was so supportive of Team Dyson for Victory Bo had nothing to with Bo at all, or Lauren. The reason was Dyson himself.

That wasn't something she was willing to mull over, though. Not now and not in the future. It was a potential truth that had to stay hidden – for her sake as much as Bo's.

Exasperated, she swung back around to face Vex, hands on hips. At the moment, she kind of hated him for bringing this particular truth to the not quite surface. "Listen, are you going to teach me the double-pump-smudge-proof technique or not?"

Vex sighed, leaning over the back of the couch with a dare-she-say-it _fond_ look on his face. "I'm so proud of you." Mercifully, he decided to drop the subject of Dyson and her maybe-howling. "Come here," he said, crooking a finger at her. Relieved smile in place, Kenzi did exactly that.

Taking a seat, she allowed herself to become a doll for him to work his make-up wonders on. Say what you would about the former Mesmer and his shady, murderous past, he was killer with a mascara brush.

….

Vex eyed the tiny spunk of a human in front of him as he worked on lathering up her eyelashes with mascara, using his oh-so-perfect bushman's technique. Occasionally, he'd offer important tips which she'd either grunt at or respond with some form of snark. His mind was still on their earlier conversation, though, as he was pretty sure hers was as well.

She may not know it, or perhaps just wouldn't admit to it, but _he_ knew all too well why exactly she had the pom-poms out for wolf boy. In fact, it was so obvious that it was almost embarrassing, even more so because he seemed to be the only one who could see it. Really, was it not the succubus and her band of merry men that had defeated the all-powerful Garuda (not without his indispensable assistance) that he'd been hanging out with or the blind mice? They were all so painfully oblivious to everything around them. When one did, for once in a blue moon, happen to notice something than it was an end of the world kind of crisis and they quickly buried it back up again. A bloody soap opera, that's what it was – only not half as fun.

The human had the hots for the wolf! There, was that so hard? He could tell it from a mile off. Of course, he couldn't tell you why. He couldn't see the appeal in Dyson himself. The man was hot, the Mesmer would give him that, and given the chance he'd certainly take him for a night of fun down in the dungeons of his club, but his personality certainly left something to be desired. He was just so broody and boring. Really, Vex couldn't for the life of him understand what made him attractive to someone like Kenzi who, frankly, had more personality than she knew how to handle most days.

For whatever reason, though, the girl was gaga for wolf and that was her prerogative. Vex wasn't about to hound her about it. Or, well, he would, if she'd just up and admit to it already. But he supposed that would break some code of bestie conduct she had going on with that Succubus. Vex resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, these humans and their morals. If it was him, he'd just screw the wolf and be done with it. If he felt truly concerned about the succubus's feelings on the matter then he'd just invite her in on the fun.

There, problem solved.

Why did nobody ever ask his advice?

At least that way she'd get whatever naughty feelings she had out of her system and the two of them could return to talking about truly important things – like the best shade of eye shadow to make her eyes really pop and he had some ideas– and leave all these mushy puppy love feelings in the dust. Really, it just made him nauseas. He wasn't a couple's councillor for crying out loud! Although, he'd make a rather good one, don't get him wrong – have them all screwing by the end of the first day and by the end of the week? Orgies!

A hiss brought him back to the present. It was Kenzi, who had flinched out of his reach when his arm had brushed up against her left, knocking the mascara wand against her cheek and messing up her look. Vex sighed; bloody human.

"Nice one, love," he griped but she wasn't listening.

Instead, she was cringing in obvious pain and clutching at her arm. Despite himself – and he would never admit so – he was concerned. "What's up with that?" he questioned, gesturing vaguely at her arm.

Her eyes snapped to his and, for a moment, she looked alarmed. Then it passed. "Nothing." She forced a shrug. "Just a muscle cramp. Boy, can those be a bitch." Her smile was slightly wobbly and not at all convincing. She looked tired, now that he took the time to really inspect her. Make-up had covered the bags that no doubt rested beneath her eyes but the drawn look to her face couldn't be completely hidden.

Vex had been woken up by her little night time adventure last night. Honestly, was it too much to ask for a solid night's sleep? If it wasn't the bleedin' succubus shagging the chi out of her bloody girlfriend it was the human playing midnight spy on the sleeping succubus – whatever got you going, he didn't judge. He'd nearly called her on it, snapped at her for interrupting his precious beauty sleep but then he'd looked over to find her in a heap on the floor. She'd looked all too pathetic for even _his _sharp tongue.

Trying to block out her infuriating breathing exercises in the background, he'd rolled over and gone back to sleep.

Looking at her now, he wondered whether that was something he should bring up, along with all his other concerns. Something was clearly up with the little human, something not so nice.

But he was Vex. The Mesmer. The dark Fae. The monster of little Fae nightmares. Concerns weren't his area, they couldn't be.

So he let it be.

He couldn't afford to wonder, to care.

…

_A/N: So, what did you think?_


	3. More Like a Shit-uation

_A/N: So I'm really sorry for how long it's taken me to update! I've been sick and I also had a lot of trouble with getting this chapter out – It was a bit like pulling teeth. I think mostly because this chapter's not essential to my plot and is very much filler. To be honest, I'm not very happy with it so I hope it doesn't disappoint you all too much._

_I'm also thinking of maybe going on hiatus until Lost Girl starts again and that way I'll be hit with a ton of inspiration and obsession, since at the moment without my weekly episode I keep getting pulled into all my other lovely fandoms. This can make it a struggle to come back and write this. I want to give this story my all and that might mean letting it rest for a bit, which I'm really sorry about because I know how much I hate it when I get into a story and the chapters just stop. Anyway, this isn't for certain. I just wanted to let you know in case. I didn't want you to panic if updates stopped coming and think I'd abandoned it. I have no plans to abandon this story yet _

_In saying that, I think I might have at least another chapter in me before this happens. But no promises ;) _

_Just to make it clear as well, obviously this fic hasn't been the friendliest towards Lauren so far but that's not a reflection of my own thoughts on her character. I have nothing against the good doctor. I adore all of Lost Girl's babies . . . except for Massimo and Baba Yaga. I have limits – they're faint but they're there! _

_I also wanted to send out my love to you all for giving me reviews and just for taking the time to read this fic. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it. _

_**(**__**roseberrygirl**__** I just watched that episode the other night and Dyson's hungry like the wolf still makes me giggle! And I too like me some Kenzi/Vex **_

_**Jommy26**__** Yep, it was just a nightmare . . . or was it? Nope, just kidding, it was a nightmare. Everyone is alive and well. Well, alive anyway.) **_

_And now, I deliver to you Dyson as promised, and a dash of Denzi times (OK, there's a smidge of Cock-blocking Lauren as well) so go forth and read!_

…

"Do you think just once, maybe just once you could _try_ to be-"

Kenzi looked up from where she sat on the couch, fiddling with that damned stick which was glued to her hand, in order to land a reproachful stare on the doctor – _Miss Fabulous_. Of all the people she had to be stuck with to figure out this mess, why did it have to be her? She would have even taken Officer Snarky over the doc, except she was too busy being part of the giggle triplets upstairs. "What?" she snapped.

"Helpful?" the blonde finished in frustration.

For a moment, Kenzi stared, unable quite to believe her ears. "Excuse me?"

_Helpful?_

Helpful was all she ever tried to be for Bo and the others. Sure, her brand of help didn't always equate to much good and she certainly didn't have any fancy doctor skills to add to the equation like Lauren but, yes, she did _try_ to be helpful. Shit, she had the scar on her side to prove it and the thoughtful little gift of Itchy and Scratchy on her arm from the Norn, who right now was getting a contender in Lauren Lewis for the list of people she wanted to bitch slap.

"Sure." Lauren dropped her arms, exasperated. "Because everybody else does," she said, tone faintly venomous with the hint of mocking.

Kenzi had never actually seen the doctor pissed before but she was sure as hell seeing it now, she could tell that much for certain. Whatever pent up frustration the doc had built up over the younger woman's disregard for her and her relationship with Bo was clearly bubbling to the surface, frothing menacingly. No punches pulled this time.

Well, in that case, she wasn't going to hold back either.

Before she had a chance to retort, however, her adversary went on.

"You just bounce through life, no job, no plan, from one beer to the next and still everybody dotes on you, don't they?"

It took everything in Kenzi not to wince at that. "What do you care where they dote?"

Her only response was for Lauren to look away and roll her eyes. "Just forget about it."

_Oh no_. Kenzi sprang to her feet. You didn't just suddenly heap all that on the Kenz and then turn away and pretend it never happened! That was . . . some form of rude. "What is that? Why are you always rolling your eyes at me with your . . . _normal_ upbringing and your medical degree?" All those things that made her better than Kenzi, in the doctor's eyes at least.

At that, Lauren looked affronted, maybe even pained. "You don't know anything about my life, Kenzi-"

"I know that you think you're too good for me," she interrupted quickly, pointing a finger at the blonde. Too smart, too rich, too mature to ever take someone like her seriously. Whatever, that was fine. She didn't care what the doctor thought of her . . . but, deep down, she couldn't help but wonder whether Lauren thought Bo was too good for her also.

"No, I don't, actually. You think that I'm not good enough for Bo," Lauren countered, causing Kenzi to freeze and drop that train of thought.

She didn't like Lauren. That was no secret.

Whenever she was around her, she felt like that kid on the streets again, apart from all her 'normal' peers – the ones with homes and clothes they didn't have to steal, with high school diplomas and maybe even college degrees . . . the ones who didn't have to do things to survive that would later be filed under 'unmentionable'. It wasn't that she was ashamed of who she was. She was damn proud, point in fact, because she knew that, at the end of the day, she was strongerthan all those people had ever had to be.

She was _strong_.

That didn't mean she didn't feel inadequate sometimes, though. Around Lauren, around the Fae, she was always the girl who lacked in something, the girl who wasn't _quite_ good enough for their company.

So, yeah, that earned the Doc a certain amount of resentment and uneasiness from Kenzi. The fact that she'd betrayed Bo in the past and had decidedly ambiguous intentions overall, intensified that dislike to a degree that couldn't just be ignored.

Still, staring at the blonde, seeing the mixed hurt, anger and exasperation on her face she couldn't help but feel for the first time slightly guilty over her treatment towards her. Whatever her own feelings on the matter, Bo cared about her, _really_ cared about her. She clearly saw something in Lauren that Kenzi didn't, something good.

So maybe there _was_ something, something that made her worthy of a little more kindness than what she'd been getting so far.

And, yeah, maybe she still didn't think Lauren was good enough for Bo but that was her own shit to deal with. It wasn't like she could do anything about it if Bo was determined to be with Doctor Hotpants – nothing except make everybody else miserable, which it seemed she'd been doing a fine job of so far.

Sighing, Kenzi looked away. "She's my best friend," she tried to explain, glancing back at Lauren. It wasn't much of an explanation and it certainly didn't include any of the finer points on the matter but it was all she was willing to give away to the other woman. It was going to have to be enough.

Surprisingly, Lauren seemed to get it and turned slightly defeated. "And I love her."

"I know!" Kenzi cried, flinging her arm up in exasperation. Of course, she knew. _Everybody_ knew. She had known for years. Seeing the two together, it was impossible not know.

But Lauren wasn't the only one who loved Bo.

"I know," she breathed turning away.

And if she had to pick, she would choose Dyson's happiness over Lauren's every time. It was a lot easier to do that if she thought Lauren wasn't good enough for her best friend, that Bo not only deserved better but would be happier with the wolf.

If that wasn't the case, then she would have to back down. She would have to accept Bo and Lauren's relationship, to support it even . . . and stop trying to make sure that Dyson got his happy ending too. There was no choice between Bo and Dyson's happiness. If the succubus truly was happier with Lauren then Kenzi would never stand in the way of that. She just wished, really wished that her happiness didn't have to mean Dyson's heartache.

She loved them both so much and yet it seemed inevitable that she was going to have to stand by and watch one of them end up miserable.

And it couldn't be Bo.

Pacing away, she shook her head, slightly dismayed at where the conversation had led. Their lives in peril – again – and the two of them, arguing like teenagers while their friends were upstairs being . . . well, actual teenagers. They sure did pick a bun of a time to finally have it out.

"Are you sure we're not infected?" she demanded in frustration, swinging back around to face the other woman.

Lauren shook her head, scoffing at herself slightly. "No, we're just . . .stupid."

Right. Kenzi would have preferred that they were infected. At least then, they'd probably be having some fun.

…

Dyson pouted as he made his way outside the bedroom, as per his orders. The girls were being totally mean and had demanded that he leave them to have some quality girl time for the moment. It didn't really make all that much sense to him. After all, what could they possibly have to do with each other that they couldn't do with him? More to the point, did they really think that anything they did could be at all fun if he wasn't involved?

He was _cool_.

At least, he thought he was cool.

Someone would have told him by now if he wasn't cool.

They were just mean!

And his Scottish accent was not lame!

Sulking now but determined to have fun without them, he made his way down the stairs. There had to be something to do in this house that was fun, something that he didn't need _them_ for. Hey, maybe there was a liquor cabinet! They could be having their boring girly time whilst _he_ had a total party down hear with the booze! Then they'd be sorry for ever thinking to get rid of him. He was going to get way drunk!

How much did one have to drink to get drunk?

Twenty bottles?

Were there different kinds of alcohol?

Was one kind considered cooler than the other?

Dyson frowned, thinking this over before shrugging his shoulders carelessly. He'd just drink the whole liquor cabinet and see what happened. There wouldn't be any left for the girls then either, which would just make them all the sorrier for making him leave.

"Hold it, 17 Again, where do you think you're going?" A voice demanded, catching Dyson by surprise.

A flash of black and red appeared in front of him at the bottom of the stairs and he took a hasty step back in response. It was Kenzi, looking more than a little suspicious and slightly pissed to see him, a stick protruding out in front of her. He blinked at it in slight confusion as it rose threateningly towards his chest. He kind of wanted to touch it.

_Act cool. Act cool._

"Nowhere," he said, shifting evasively. _Nailed it._

Her eyes narrowed. "Yeah, like I believe that, Mr. Where are you going?"

_Don't say liquor cabinet. Don't say liquor cabinet._

"Cherry picking."

Kenzi's eyes widened slightly and he did not take that as a good sign. "That's it, upstairs!" She poked him with the stick for good measure and he frowned. Maybe she had a thing against cherries.

"But I don't want to," he whined, stamping his foot.

She blinked at him, disbelieving. "Did you just stamp your foot?"

He ignored this. "Tam Tam and Bo are being mean! They told me to go away. They said they wanted some girl time." He stopped, something occurring to him. "Do you think they're having naked pillow fights?" He imagined it for a moment, the thought turning him from sulky to kind of hot and uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to leave them. Maybe he could have hidden under the bed, or in the closet. There was also a bathtub.

Kenzi's eyes flickered downwards momentarily before widening in a way that bordered on comical, having caught on something unexpected. "Oh! Shiver me timbers." She paused, slightly sidetracked. "…very big timbers…" Her gaze hastily shot back up. A smile came upon her face that was a little too bright. "Why don't you stay out here for a bit?" she grabbed his shoulder and guided him away from the staircase, muttering more to herself than him, "The last thing we need is a Fae teen pregnancy on our hands. Tamsin as a mother, now _that_ is what nightmares are made of."

Dyson's face scrunched up in disgust at her words, arousal suddenly leaving him. "Ew, babies are gross."

She turned to him and nodded her dead gravely. "Yes. Yes they are. Now, you hold onto that whenever you start thinking about naked pillow fights, OK?"

He grinned, an idea suddenly occurring to him. "We should hang out instead!"

"Say what?"

"Yeah, just the two of us. It would be totally awesome."

She blinked. He took that as a good sign.

…

Kenzi stared in wonderment at the grown man in front of her. At least, he was supposed to be a grown man. Right now he was just . . . well, reminding her why teenagers had such a bad name and why she had been an extraordinary and awesome exception to that generalisation. She had never been this annoying, or stupid.

Right now, Dyson was trying to balance a chair on top of his head. It went without saying that the endeavour was not going well. She admired his determination, though. He had yet to give up or lose enthusiasm.

Lauren was in the kitchen mixing some antidote for the teenitis their friends had suddenly been hit with and, fingers-crossed, it would work. Kenzi was almost tempted to join her and escape the circus act if not for the fact that her new company would then be the doctor, and that science-y things would be involved. It was better to just stay here, taking photos on her phone for prime blackmail material in the future.

Really, Dyson was going to be buying her so many snazzy pairs of new shoes once he saw some of these.

The chair dropped to the floor with a clatter for the seventh time and Dyson pouted down at it, seemingly unable to work out why gravity was so determinedly against him this – _poor baby_. After a moment, he glanced up, frightening grin suddenly in place. _Uh oh_. "Let's play a game!"

"Let's not." She moved back a few cautious inches.

She was already going to have a hard enough time being able to see Dyson the same way ever again after all this. Really, he was ruining his entire image for her which was just completely inconsiderate of him.

This whole day was turning into that episode of_ Buffy_ where evil magic candy bars make all the adults turn into teenyboppers. She just hoped they wouldn't have to battle any giant snakes in this real life enactment . . . and that nobody had sex with anyone's mother on top of a police car.

Considering both Bo and Dyson had locked lips with Bo's mother _and _that there were two cops currently present in the house, that wasn't so out of the realm of possibilities.

Kenzi shuddered.

"How about you go upstairs and play with the other kiddies instead?" She tried, rising from her position on the couch and pointing to the stairs with her stick – possible teen pregnancies be damned! This was so not how she ever imagined herself: a magic stick stuck to her hand, pig men dead in the living room and trying to work out a playdate for a grown werewolf reliving puberty. Not to mention, mad chemistry going on in the kitchen!

She just thought she'd have conned all of the money out of some lame rich guy and thus be living it up on a cruise in the Caribbean. She just knew she would rock the bikini and mojito.

Face puckering in disappointment – _And, no, Mackenzie Malikov, you do not think that's cute!_ –, Dyson approached her, giving sad puppy-dog-eyes a whole new meaning. "Please?"

"No," she said firmly, holding out the stick between them as a way to keep some distance. Any closer with those eyes and she'd be handing him out brewskies before you could spit. The pout increased, eyes growing ever bigger and all the more pleading. "No! Bad Dyson." She scolded, reaching forward to wack him lightly on the shoulder with her stick. At the last moment she just resisted the impulse to smack him on the nose like you would a naughty puppy as well.

This may not have been the smartest thing to do because it drew his attention to the stick.

"That stick is so cool. Can I have a go?" Apparently, teenage Dyson had ill manners since, rather than wait for an answer and maybe permission, he reached out with excitement to grab the object from her. The stick didn't appear to like that at all. One minute it was resting threateningly but harmlessly in the air between them and the next it was flying through space to whack aside his greedy reaching hands.

"Woah!" Kenzi's eyes widened momentarily in alarm, still not used to her hand being possessed by a magic stick with the temperamental mood swings of a Pop Star. "Uh, stick-y no touch-y. No touch-y the stick-y. Capiche?"

Rather than looking put out by his recent punishment, he grinned. "Wow, that was so hot."

She gaped. "W-What?"

He cocked his head to the side, studying her. "You have really beautiful eyes. What colour is that?" he asked, taking a step forward to which she hastily took a step back in response. This continued for several paces until she was back up against the wall, the man-child more than crowding her space. "Blue? Azure?" Kenzi blinked, not sure whether to be more stunned by Dyson saying her eyes were beautiful, getting all up in her face, or the fact that he, in his teenage state, knew the meaning of the word azure.

The shock quickly faded into horror as the reality of the situation hit full force. "Woah! Bad, Dyson! Bad, wolfie, down!" she shrieked, holding her hands up in front of her in defence, narrowly avoiding giving him a black eye with the stick. That would be a last resort only – she'd have mess up his pretty boy face.

Either he didn't hear her or simply chose to ignore her, instead staring mesmerised at her face. "I could stare at your eyes all day…"

Any other situation and a guy saying that to her would have been pretty high up on the scale of romantic . . . or stalker-y. This situation? "Getting weird…"

Also getting increasingly uncomfortable.

His body was pressing into hers, squashing her up against the wall and causing her to hold her breath in an attempt to keep them from touching any more than necessary – aside from obvious reasons, there was also the concerning fact that she and Lauren were supposed to be keeping their distance from the infected. There was no distance here whatsoever!

At some point, he had placed a hand against the wall beside her head, leaning for support and she could sense his fingers just millimetres from her cheek. Exhaling sharply, unable to keep the air in any longer, she stared wide-eyed up into his gaze which had become rather heated in the last few moments.

Speaking of beautiful eyes, she had always thought Dyson's had a certain pull to them. In the past, the light blue, hooded gaze had usually had a calming effect on her but now . . .

Kenzi felt a tingle in her stomach, travelling down and growing hotter.

A grin suddenly overcame Dyson's face, filling his eyes with jubilation and breaking the moment. "We should totally go steady!"

She blinked, mouth falling open as she tried to right herself within the current situation. She felt a lick of shame and self-reproach at the way her body had so readily reacted just moments ago and, against her will, a slight blush rose in her cheeks. "What? We should what-y?"

…

Lauren frowned in bemusement as she came upon the scene in front of her. Kenzi backed up against the wall, her cheeks red and her eyes the widest the doctor had perhaps ever seen them. Dyson, who she had thought still upstairs in quarantine, was standing over her, shielding most of her from view. There was an excited grin on his face that instantly put her at unease.

Her frown increased as she struggled to puzzle out the situation. Was he _attacking_ her?

Her eyes noticed something else about the picture, a part of the man's anatomy she wouldn't have expected to see so engaged. This was an interesting development. Considering his earlier attraction to Bo and, maybe even Tamsin, and now seemingly Kenzi, perhaps the parasite also had an arousing effect on its victims. She would have to investigate Tamsin and Bo's behaviour further to be more certain, though the Succubus had already shown a substantial attraction to both Dyson and Lauren.

"What's going on?"

The two sprung apart. Or rather, Kenzi jumped out from under Dyson, pushing the wolf back several paces with surprising strength.

"Just saving the world from unplanned pregnancies!" she exclaimed, swinging around to face her and brushing off imaginary lent from her clothes. She was noticeably breathless, her cheeks more than a little red.

Lauren hoped that she too hadn't been infected after being in such close contact with Dyson. She was almost certain that the parasite only infected Fae but not enough put her mind completely at ease.

Her brain then caught up with what the younger woman had said and she felt even more confused with the situation. "What?"

Kenzi looked at her in utter seriousness, absentmindedly smacking away Dyson's hand as it reached to play with her hair. She moved away from him. "I'm tellin' yah, Doc, someone's going to end up preggers before all this is over. And because this is the Fae and all their bullshit that we're dealing with here – our luck, it'll probably be Dyson."

The man himself looked suitably alarmed by this prediction and no longer interested in playing with her hair.

Lauren shook her head at the woman's silly notion. "Male shifters can't be impregnated," she paused, eyes brightening with inner knowledge as she recalled something, "but there are some species of Fae where it is not only possible but expected for the male of their kind to conceive and carry the offspring."

Kenzi frowned. "Lucky them. Bet you they don't put up with the pains of childbirth nearly as well as us gals."

Lauren thought over this. "Well, I've never actually witnessed the labour of one myself-"

She cut her off. "Not something you needed to respond to, Doc. How's the potion making going?"

"It's almost done. I just need your help with the last few steps."

"Okie Dokie." She started to move towards Lauren, Dyson following her step for step and trying to play with her hair once more. She smacked his hand aside. "Stop that."

Lauren frowned. Possible hair fixation a symptom as well?


	4. Drinks for Two: Part 1

"…_There's something inside me that pulls beneath the surface. Consuming, confusing…"_

_Crawling by Linkin Park_

…

'_Immature, irresponsible and clingy.'_

It really did sound different when you weren't the one saying it about yourself. Certainly, it lacked adorability and a certain element of humour that Kenzi prided herself on being capable of adding to almost anything. There was a harshness to it that chiselled at her insides, creating a dull uncomfortable feeling within the closure of her chest.

The words had been meant as a joke when she'd said them. Only, they had never been _just_ a joke. There was always a grain of truth in them that had worked its way, unbidden, into her speech. Except now, thrown back at her by Bo in lieu of the good doctor, they were all insult, all truth.

No joke there.

She didn't exactly have any great defence for them either. She _was_ those things, had admitted to being them jovially enough to Bo. Lauren had thought they showed a bad side of her character, though, and Kenzi began to wonder whether Bo thought the same. She'd obviously thought about it, maybe even talked to Lauren about it. After all, it had been those words of Lauren's that she had automatically jumped to in defence of her girlfriend. Those words that she even seemed to agree with.

Kenzi couldn't care less what Lauren thought of her – though, after their enlightening little spat yesterday she was beginning to reconsider whether or not her opinion really was the lowest of the low, after all – but Bo . . .

She cared what Bo thought.

Was the succubus annoyed by her immaturity, becoming frustrated by her lack of responsibility?

'_You just bounce through life, no job, no plan, from one beer to the next…'_

Yeah, she didn't have a proper job, had never had one actually – unless the community service of pickpocketing counting. She had started up this Fae detective agency thing she had going on with Bo, though, and that had to count for something. True, it was mostly Bo who paid for their stuff but that was because she used her succubus-y powers to charm her way into getting things for free most of the time. She also didn't want Kenzi to help out with her sticky fingers which, really, wasn't all that different to what she was doing with her abilities. There just wasn't yet a law against using Succubus thrall to make people fall over themselves trying to hand you anything you could ever want.

Did Bo think she should get a job, though, a proper job?

Kenzi gnawed on her bottom lip in thought, cringing slightly when the burning rash on her arm reached a new level of painful. It had gone from itchy to ouch-mother-fucker sometime after watching Bo go all big bad wolf on the little piggies last night. Throughout the day it had come and gone, getting progressively worse each time on the come.

It was getting to be a real bitch, starting to look like it too.

The rash was far from pretty now – not that it had even been in the same country as pretty to begin with – also with an emphasis on grizzly. All the skin along the area had peeled off within the last few days and she'd taken to having to wear a bandage over it. Changing those every time they got too bloody was a lesson in stealth, having to be careful that Bo wouldn't walk in and discover her.

Mind drawn back to Bo and her earlier thoughts, she winced, the pain in her arm increasing.

'…_clingy.'_

The memory of the word throbbed in her head. Out of everything, it was this one word that got to her the most.

She didn't want to consider it but was Bo beginning to find Kenzi a little _too_ clingy, and not in the cute-little-sister way but rather the suffocating-friend-I can't-seem-to-get-rid-of one? After all, it was doubtful the two could have spent more time together if there had been an umbilical cord between them. For Kenzi, this wasn't an issue – Bo's presence was as expected and appreciated as an appendage – but that was _her_. She'd always craved the company of others, even those that weren't all that pleasant.

Christmas had been her favourite day of the year as a kid. Not because of the presents – which were rather dismal and pathetic anyway – or the food – which was kicker – but because it was the only time of the year when she found it impossible to be alone. Her big crazy Russian family all together in the one house, cooing over her, berating her, kissing her, knit-picking, touching her – it was unbearable. She'd always found her family rather intolerable. But she was used to the crowd, the cacophony, the lack of breathing space. It was natural to her, and it was better than being alone. Especially when her stepfather came into the picture and alone meant having to endure _his_ unwelcome attentions.

Even after Kenzi had run away, she'd never really been completely alone. Living on the streets, she'd flittered back and forth between different gangs of other homeless teens, forming loose friendships. Apart from Ozzy, none of them had been all that important but they'd, at least, filled some of the space left behind in her life after leaving home.

Bo hadn't grown up with a big family, though, and she had never seemed to crave the company of others to the same degree that Kenzi did. Travelling alone as she had for so many years, the Succubus had grown used to her own company. Maybe that made the younger woman's near constant presence overwhelming or simply plain irritating, even off-putting.

Kenzi hoped that wasn't the case but . . . what if it was?

No, that was ridiculous. She and Bo were solid god. Their friendship was 11/10 on the awesome-o-meter, utterly without faults.

They were _fine._

God, she was only on her seventh shot and nowhere near drunk enough to deal with these kinds of thoughts.

As if in answer to a prayer, she was promptly torn from them by the sound of approaching footsteps, just audible over the mindless chatter of the bar and Trick's terrible taste in music. The stool beside her was pulled out and she glanced over to see Dyson sitting down. She was relieved to note that the clueless, mischievous and, at times, horny expression was gone from his face – thank god, if she ever had to deal with Teenage Dyson again it would be too soon. Instead, he had a somewhat cheeky smirk in place. While this was preferred, it still didn't necessarily bode well for Kenzi.

"Hey," he greeted, voice warm and slightly gruff – all traces of Scottish-ness gone, thankfully. "I hear you had some fun with a stick."

Kenzi's smirk was immediate, almost unable to believe the opening she'd just been given. It was too good. He noticed her look immediately and recognised his mistake, mouth twitching slightly in faint amusement.

"Don't," he warned before she could say anything.

"Oh man, but it's right there!" she protested. "It's like begging for it, dude."

He remained unmoved. "Then impress me with your self-restraint by not giving into it."

"Spoil sport," she grumbled, looking away, but not before catching another mouth twitch. _Bastard._

"I'm sure you'll find it in your heart to forgive me." He raised a second glass of sweet, sweet booze that he'd brought with him and slid it along the bar to her. Kenzi's eyes followed its progress with the utmost attention, her mouth watering slightly at this unexpected gift. All of a sudden, she pounced on it, bringing the glass to clutch to her chest as though someone would soon snatch it away.

Catching Dyson's amused expression, she forced herself to regain composure. "I may," she allowed, raising the glass to take a dainty and oh so stoic sip.

Dyson smirked, taking a swallow of his own booze, his much less restrained than her own. "So, tell me about this stick."

Kenzi was only too happy to oblige. "Oh, it was so kick-ass!" she exclaimed, jumping into it immediately and gesturing about enthusiastically with her arms. Dyson dodged a stray hand his way and some of the contents of her glass spilt over but she paid it no mind. "_I _was kick-ass. I mean, if Martin Goodman had been there, they'd be making a comic book hero out of me. The Super-Kenz, the most kick-ass hero to ever be. I'd be everyone's favourite."

Dyson appeared to be restraining a laugh which she didn't so much appreciate. She was being completely serious. "I'm sure you would be."

"Damn straight," she responded with a nod of certainty.

"So I'm taking it you had fun?"

"Oh, yeah," she moaned. "I mean, the whole having a stick stuck to my hand was a bit of a downer but the Kung Fu skills were a sweet bonus. And, you know," she looked down for a second into her glass, before admitting with a shrug of attempted nonchalance, "It was kind of nice to be the superhero for once." She moved on quickly before Dyson could comment, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being rescued as much as the next girl – much less chance of messing up this super freakin' awesome manicure – but doing the rescuing for a change is kind of nice to. I make a pretty damn good hero."

Dyson smiled at her fondly. "I remember. It wasn't so long ago you rescued me."

Kenzi smiled too, more than a little touched that he still remembered that. After all, she'd broken the heel of her favourite boots just to wheel him out from that place. Admittedly, it was one of her less glamorous forays into heroism – hiding beneath a dead guy wasn't exactly something she ever wanted to repeat.

That wasn't to say she wouldn't do it again in a heartbeat, though, if it meant Dyson's life. She'd do anything for him, for any of her friends. Even ruin another pair of heels.

"But you gave it up," he prodded, referring to the stick of awesomeness she'd somewhat regrettably set aside.

Kenzi shrugged. "Yeah, well, I figured there's only so much awesome one person should have. You know, to be fair to everyone else. I was just thinking of you guys."

"It's appreciated," he told her with false gravity.

She jerked her head in assent. "Better be. I was freakin' awesome with that stick."

"Well, if memory serves, you've never needed a stick to be 'awesome'." He smiled across at her – he seemed to be doing that a lot this evening. Not that she was complaining. She liked it when Dyson smiled, liked it even more when he smiled at her.

She wouldn't delve too much into the reasons for _that_, though.

"Correct," she agreed, nodding to herself – as if such a fact could ever be doubted.

"For the sake of the Fae, it's probably best you don't have one."

"Yeah. Right." Kenzi snorted to herself. "The Norn's probably still getting over that heart attack I gave her." She paused momentarily, brow furrowing as something suddenly occurred to her. "Do Fae get heart attacks? I mean, because if not that's just way unfair."

He seemed to consider this for a moment. "I've never come across one who has."

She rolled her eyes, taking a gulp of her drink which Dyson had been oh so kind to procure for her. It was definitely earning him some added brownie points. "You Fae and your privileges."

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that we never invented anything like McDonalds." He looked at her meaningfully, causing her to gape in offence.

"Hey! Don't dis the Maccas, man," she protested. "That stuff got me through my teens. Affordable and yummy, my kind of heaven." Living on the streets with only the money she could pilfer, it had been a necessary basis for her diet.

He wasn't as convinced. "It tastes like plastic, Kenz."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's it. You are officially uninvited from our next McHappy night." She paused, remembering too late that she and the gang didn't actually have a McHappy night. Well, that was about to change. "Just as soon as we start having them."

"It will be a struggle but somehow I will find a way to go on," he replied, voice too serious to be genuine and then there was that annoying twinkle in his eyes.

She pouted. "You're awfully snarky tonight. That time of the wolf month? No, wait. This is left over residue from the teen grenade, isn't it?"

"Actually, I fear it might be my new partner rubbing off on me." He grimaced slightly at the possibility and she couldn't help but do so too – she wouldn't wish Tamsin's charming personality on anyone. "We just had a beer. Pretended what had happened _didn't_." He nodded his head to the far corner of the bar where the blonde detective currently sat, draining shot after shot. She certainly seemed to be trying to forget the events of yesterday.

She narrowed her eyes at the thought. To forget something, you actually had to be able to remember it in the first place. _Oh, God-_

"Wait, can you remember what happened?" Please no. The memory of her and Dyson's . . . _exchange_ against the wall was too embarrassing for her own mind, she didn't need to share it with his as well.

He hesitated a moment. "No."

She scowled at him accusingly. "Oh, you so do, Duran Duran."

"Never to be spoken of again," he stated firmly.

"Mm hm. 'Mouth is alive, all running inside and I'm hungry like the wolf'," she sang, earning the evil eye from the wolf in question.

"Kenzi," he warned, earning an innocent blink from her return. He sighed. "It's all too fuzzy, really, to make much of anything out. Just bits and pieces, really – none of which make any sense to be honest."

She scratched her cheek nervously and questioned, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, "What kinds of bits and pieces?" As long as there was nothing to do with a wall, she was in the clear.

"Dancing mostly," he told her after a thoughtful pause. "Something to do with weapons practice, oddly enough. And the colour blue. I'm not sure what that could mean."

Kenzi blushed slightly and raised her glass to her lips, avoiding his gaze. "It's a mystery." The red in her cheeks deepened slightly as she remembered his fixation with her eyes and all that had come after. Oh, boy, was that going to take some serious booze to forget.

Dyson grunted in assent, eyeing her speculatively for a moment. "So, I noticed yesterday that things between you and Lauren seemed a little bit less frosty."

She continued to avoid his gaze. "Yeah, well, I guess she's not so bad." She was surprised to find that she actually meant it. She certainly wasn't about to be waving pom poms for the doc anytime soon but she'd managed to earn some respect in Kenzi's eyes. She'd been more than resourceful in making a cure for the Fae slug that had slithered its way into their friends. Learning that she'd served in Afghanistan had also gone a way in showing her a side of the doctor that she hadn't previously thought was there, a side that was decidedly tough.

Plus, she'd punched Vex. So, at least she had game.

To her confusion, he seemed oddly pleased to hear this. "No, she's not."

"Don't get me wrong," she added quickly. "I'm still on Team Dyson."

"You don't need to be, Kenz."

"Are you kidding me? I'm Team Dyson for life, whatever happens." She paused, feeling a little nervous about the next subject she was going to broach.

…

Vex eyed the approaching Tamsin with apprehension and more than a little curiosity. Since her return to the area after centuries of absence, she had made little attempt to talk to him or even acknowledge his presence. He wasn't too fussed by that – the two of them had never gotten along swimmingly in the first place. Actually, he could distinctly recall having her stab herself with her own sword the last time he saw her. Still, it begged the question why she was approaching him now. While he was interested to find out her reasons, common sense told him that they probably didn't bode well for him.

This was confirmed by her greeting of a lethal smirk as she swung into the seat beside him. "So, Vexie, I hear you're the one to blame for my recent humiliation."

Ah, bugger. He'd known this couldn't be good for him. "Actually, love, that was all the Morrigan," he said quickly. "I was just a victim caught up in it all, really."

"Oh, really?" The falsely pleasant countenance disappeared in a flash and she leaned in closer to him. He'd never had the misfortune of witnessing her go full Valkyrie before but seeing the menace in her gaze now, he had no trouble imagining it. Oh, what he wouldn't give for the ability to use her own limbs against her once more. Perhaps then she wouldn't _dare_ to threaten him. He then realized that was pretty unlikely – she'd always had more balls than was safe. "You pull a stunt like that again, Vex, and I'll hit you with so much doubt you'll be second guessing your own manhood into the next dozen centuries," she snapped.

Well that was just uncalled for.

After staring at him a moment longer, making sure the threat was well and truly received, she stood to her feet and turned to leave.

He wasn't about to let her have the last word, though.

"Sure you're strong enough for that, love?" He called after her. "A little birdy whispered in my ear that you're at the end of your life. Can't say I disagree with 'em – you're looking a little worn around the edges I have to say." He couldn't bite back the smirk of triumph at the surprise and fury that battled their way across her face at his words. Struck a nerve, he had.

Pushing out the stool beside him, he gestured at it playfully. "Come, take a seat. Share a beer with your old pal, Vex." This could be fun.

…

_**A/N: I know, Vex and Tamsin aren't really part of the story but they kept talking in my head and so eventually I just had to give into peer pressure and include them. The next update won't take so long, promise!**_


	5. Drinks for Two: Part 2

_**A/N: I want to thank you all again for the lovely reviews. They make my day! More Dyson/Kenzi in this chapter and the next. There's also Vex and Tamsin again because I love them both and I'm squeezing in as much Vex as I can before he goes on his little holiday and leaves this story for a good long while – So, sorry for the Vex over load in this chapter and the last! **_

…

Vex watched the sappy interaction between Dyson and Kenzi with dismayed disgust. "One of these days I'm just going to lock those two in the dungeon of my club, see whether some alone time and some extra toys will reap better results than this silly dancin' around each other. I mean, look at them! It's disgusting how obvious they are."

Tamsin glanced across at him in half-hearted interest. After twenty minutes of ribbing each other back and forth, they'd since dissolved into mindless chatter. She wasn't enjoying herself nearly as much as him with it, her demeanour bordering on a mix between exasperated and angry. She hadn't made any move to leave, though, and the reason for that wasn't something he had to guess at.

She didn't have any other friends – and, hell, he wasn't even a _friend_ – and it didn't take a genius to work out that even self-enforced loners like her got lonely sometimes. She would never admit it, of course, and he found her persistent denial over the fact all the more amusing. "What? Dyson and the human? I thought he was in heat for the succubus."

He waved the idea aside. "Oh, that's old news. You truly are behind on the times, love. Well, you and everybody else. I swear, I'm beginning to think I'm the only one with eyes and sense around here."

She sized him up. "Well, eyes at least. Though I'd be more than happy to change that for you," Tamsin added, voice turning saccharine sweet.

_Bloody bitch_. "Ha ha."

She rolled her eyes. "What do you care, anyway? They're all as annoying as each other, in my opinion. As long as their lives don't interfere with mine, I couldn't give a damn who they want to fuck."

Vex had to give her that. "You've got me there, love. Though, the human's alright. At least she knows her way around an eyeliner. No hope for the rest of them, though, that's for sure."

Tamsin was unmoved. "Whatever. You know what I think? I think you're getting soft."

Vex scoffed, staring at her in affront. "Soft? _Me_? That bleach you use 'as found its way into your brain cells, love." Granted, her hair colour was completely natural but he'd found that it seemed to rile her up a bit to imply otherwise.

She appeared far from convinced but he chose to ignore that. Bitch was daft at any rate. It was that Valkyrie blood – screwed with your brains. "Fine. Then why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to be gone already?"

He scowled at her defensively. "In a tick, love. Flight leaves at 12, just getting in one last drink." He raised the beer in his hand to take a swig in order to empathise his point, deciding not to linger on _how _she knew she knew he was about to bugger off from this sad country – paranoia just gave him wrinkles. "Be unfair to deprive the locals of the chance to wave farewell to their precious Vex. I'm quite the celebrity." He smirked across at her, though she didn't look entirely believing.

"Mm, famous for being a sad little joke, maybe."

"Hey!" he cried, insulted. "I'd be willing to prove to you there's nothing little about me."

Tamsin mimed a gag. "I think I feel my dinner coming back up."

Vex turned away to glare into the surface of his beer, muttering angrily. "_'Little'_…"

She leaned in towards him, smirking. "Are you sure that's why you're still moping around this joint?" She glanced momentarily across to where Kenzi and Dyson sat, many seats away. "You didn't come here to spy on your pathetic little 'friends'?"

At this he had to scoff. Now he knew she had peaches for brains. "Friends? Not exactly the word I'd use to describe my relationship with the succubus and her merry gang. More like enemies on hold."

Tamsin shrugged her shoulders unconcernedly. "I'm sure that's how they see you." She levelled him with a look and the dig was clear – they may still view him as their enemy but his own feelings towards them were far fluffier. Utter bollocks, of course, so much so that he didn't even dignify such a perverse theory with a response.

Scowling, he went back to spying on the hopeless pair seated away from them. kidnapping them and hauling them to his dungeon might be a bit difficult but maybe a lust charm of some kind? He could do a lust charm – have them boinking like a couple of randy bunnies in a heartbeat. Now _that _sounded like fun.

…

Dyson watched her, unable to stop himself from being faintly amused at her persistent devotion to his team, even if her support was now unnecessary. While Team Dyson had once been a contender in the games for Bo's heart, that was now no longer the case. He could see very clearly that her heart now belonged to Lauren and he was glad for her, for both of them. He wanted Bo to be happy and if that happiness could be found only with Lauren then he wished them the best.

He noticed that Kenzi was now looking at him with the slightest traces of nervousness and he wondered what it was that she wanted to say. He inclined his head, prodding her to go on. After a moment she did so.

"Hey, we never really talked about that – you know, Bo and Lauren, all with the kisses. How you felt about the two of them shacking up and that. And it's me so you can be as catty as you like. Well, doggy."

He smiled to himself. "While I appreciate the invitation, I'll pass. I'm alright, Kenzi." She looked entirely too doubtful of this so he insisted, "Honestly. What Bo and I had . . . it's passed."

Her eyes narrowed insistently. "But you got your love back. Curtsey of moi, may I just remind you, for which I think you owe me a couple of drinks off Trick's top shelf."

Dyson chuckled and nodded his head. Of that, she was most certainly right. Noticing that the drink he'd already bought for her that night was empty, he raised a hand to hail Trick over. "That I do."

The Blood King approached them somewhat reluctantly, eyeing Kenzi as if she might spell disaster. Considering the last time she'd been in the Dal, she'd gotten so drunk she'd started tap-dancing on his bar, Dyson couldn't really blame him. Not to mention he'd complained to Dyson earlier about having to deal with having a Teenage Bo up there as well. Nonetheless, he took their orders without a fuss and placed two bottles of his finest on the bench, imparting Dyson with a warning glance before he left.

Taking a breath, he knew he had to explain to her why he and Bo were no longer viable, even if he didn't truly understand it himself. "What you did for me, Kenz . . . it changed everything and I'll never be able to repay you for it but it doesn't change the fact that Bo and I are over."

She frowned at him as if he was talking in some incredibly complex Fae language she didn't quite understand. "I don't get you. You got your love back. You _love_ Bo. Why would it be over?"

Sometimes, he asked himself that very same question. After everything they'd been through, everything he'd sacrificed for her and all they'd fought to get him back to where he was now, able to love, how could it just be over? At the same, everything that had happened was exactly why it was finished.

"Too much has happened," he murmured, knowing before the words left his mouth that she wouldn't be able to understand. For some reason, Kenzi had become unhealthily invested in his and Bo's relationship working out. He didn't quite get it, seeing as her best friend was just as happy with Lauren now as she had been with him, maybe even more so (though he didn't like to think on that). Yet the woman beside him was still unsatisfied with the arrangement and he couldn't help but wonder why that was. "And Bo's happy now. Happy with Lauren."

Kenzi's expression was sad as she frowned at him. "But _you're_ not – happy that is."

So that was why, why she refused to let sleeping dogs lie and give up on the idea of him and Bo somehow making it work.

Dyson smiled, touched at her concern for him, and pulled her gently into a side hug. He forgot sometimes how much Kenzi cared for all those she considered friends, not just Bo. That care was one of the most precious and rare things he'd come across in his long life and he knew he didn't appreciate it nearly as often as he should. "Yes, I am. I don't need Bo to be happy, Kenzi. I just needed to not feel so empty anymore and, thanks to you, I don't." He needed to know that he wasn't destined to a long, loveless life – that he could indeed find happiness again. She'd given that possibility back to him and for that he would be eternally grateful.

She allowed herself to settle in his arms and pouted slightly in a manner that he would never tell her he found adorable. "Still sucks balls though."

Indeed it did.

Dyson sighed, pulling her slightly closer, unable to stop himself from inhaling her scent. It was entirely Kenzi: spicy but sweet – apple and clove with just the faintest underlying of jasmine. He breathed it in, comforted.

On the subject of his love, he thought back to his conversation with Bo, of what she'd confided in him about Kenzi. It had been on his mind a lot lately, the knowledge that he'd hurt her, this woman who had done so much for him, who had never deserved his brash treatment of her. He'd wanted to apologise for it, to ask her forgiveness – even though he knew she'd already given it to him, undeserved – but the timing had never been right. For starters, this was the first time they'd been alone together since Bo's stay in Hecuba Prison.

"About last year," he began. He didn't let her go from the hug, not quite ready to miss her warmth. "My behaviour towards you in the beginning, it wasn't right. I'm sorry for hurting you like that."

Kenzi shrugged her shoulders against him, avoiding his gaze. "No big."

"Kenzi," he reproached, knowing that for her it _had _been 'big'. Bo was right, she had trusted him and he had trampled that trust without hesitance or acknowledgement.

She pulled out of his grip slightly and sighed, still not quite looking at him. "I guess I just . . . wondered. You know, whether the only reason you ever put up with me was because of Bo. I mean, your love for her was gone but you could have still loved me, right? Unless you hadn't, even when you loved her. I don't know." She fumbled, shrugging her shoulders self-consciously. "You were my friend. I thought it was mutual."

Dyson frowned, a pain erupting in his chest and spreading outwards at her words. He'd known that he'd hurt her but he'd never once guessed that he had made her doubt _them_. That he had made her think, even for a second that, that he hadn't ever loved her, that their friendship was false, wasn't something that he thought he could ever forgive himself for. "It was, Kenzi. Believe me, it was. But when the Norn took my love, it was never just my love for Bo, it was all the love I had in me to give. I couldn't love anyone after that. Not Bo, not Hale, not Kiara, not Trick and not you either, Kenzi. I could care but I couldn't _love_."

She glanced across at him. "Oh." Her eyes were sympathetic as she gazed at him, which hadn't been his intention. "I didn't know that." She bit her lip for a moment before letting out a groan. "Damn that sucks, D."

His mouth twitched slightly at her ever eloquent way with words. "Yes, it did."

"I knew you were empty, I felt it when I was in there," she told him, gazing at him with compassion and sadness in her eyes and touching a hand to his chest. Tiny but strong, it rested there against his heartbeat. "It was horrible. I just didn't know how much. But before . . . before you lost your love . . . "

"I wasn't your friend just for Bo's sake," Dyson confirmed for her. "I'll admit, in the beginning she was the reason I tolerated you. That didn't last long." He smiled suddenly, fond and amused. "You seem to have a gift for making people love you."

Kenzi flicked her hair over her shoulder as she turned to face the front of the bar, now pulling fully out of his grip. "It's my unquestionable awesomeness. People are just powerless against it." She smirked at him sideways and he couldn't help but chuckle. Her awesomeness was indeed unquestionable and he knew it was something he would never cease to be powerless against.

…

Vex smirked as he watched Dyson pull Kenzi into a one-armed hug, both amused and nauseated by the sickening display of affection. Friends hugged, of course, but Vex would be as stupid as the Valkyrie beside him if he thought for a minute that that was all that existed between the two. He was no succubus but even he could sense the sexual energy that trailed after them like a smitten puppy whenever they were together.

Speaking of which, why hadn't the succubus picked up on it? And she called herself the Chosen One? Failure for a Fae was what she was. Not that he could really talk, seeing as he was somewhat deficient in his own abilities at the moment.

"Oh, can you just imagine the drama if Bo's beau got with her little human pet." The thought made him positively gleeful. He'd pay good money to see the succubus gobsmacked in such a way.

Tamsin didn't seem to agree. "Urgh," she rolled her eyes, "that's just what we need – _more_ drama. As if it wasn't unbearable enough to be in the same vicinity as them." She glared over at the pair, no doubt disappointed that Bo wasn't there, too, in order to do some proper scowling at her as well. Speaking of sexual energy, those two had their own game going on, also with similarly irritating levels of obliviousness.

Vex stared at her, disappointed. "You've gotten boring in your old age, Valkyrie."

She smiled sweetly back at him, eyes failing to hide their lethal dose of venom. "And you've only gotten more annoying."

"Come on, I can't be the only one who sees . . ." he waved his arm around wildly at the picture of Dyson and Kenzi, trying to find a word appropriate to describe the bleeding irritation that was their situation. "_That,_" he decided on finally.

She looked for her part rather bored. "Again, why do you care?"

Vex sputtered, taken aback by the question. He realized that he didn't actually have an answer, none that he liked anyway. "Well it's just bleeding infuriating, isn't it?"

Tamsin remained nonplus. "I don't know. I'd say the infuriating never stops."

He sighed, giving up on trying to convince her of his case. It was stupid anyway. He'd probably come back from his jolly holiday to find that the two had fucked like bunnies and moved on. More to the point, the Valkyrie was right. He had no reason to care what was going on with them, with any of that silly gang.

Really, he was becoming far to invested for his own good.

And that was worrying.


End file.
